1950 Wolverine, No. 141 Magic Auto Race in Original Box
Very unusual and beautifully lithographed steel litho automobile racing toy. Old store stock never played with or removed from original box. Comes complete with fantastic, full panel illustrated box, plus all three steel litho racing cars, crank, box insert and accessory envelope. Nearly identical in concept with Marx's Mot-O-Run racing toy except this toy is manually operated. The Marx toy is electric. Consists of a long, flat oblong race course. The side panels are beautifully illustrated with racing scenes including a full drawing of an early race car rounding the corner (bottom right corner). A sheet of fibrous material was placed on top of the steel litho. Individual "tracks" were created using narrow yellow separators. The tracks are attached to a series of springs located under the race course, which are in turn connected to the metal crank. The crank has a wooden handle on it. Turning the crank makes the track move forward very slightly. Suddenly it springs back into position. The bottom of each auto is lined with a fiber which intermittently grabs onto the fibrous track surface. The rapid back and forth track vibration moves the cars ahead. It's really something to watch because it's so simple, works flawlessly, yet today who would ever think of such a thing! Oh, and the individual cars are lithographed as well. They outline the important exterior body parts. A small metal ball represents the driver's head. And then there's the box....what an awesome box it is too! Rather than describe it just look below. You're looking at a nearly 2 foot long panel. The back of the box is blank. Size: 22¾" x 8" overall. Cars are 1¼" long. Sold: May 2005
Price Sold: $ 305
